Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance)

Also known as Yom Hazikaron laShoah ve-laG’vurah, Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day.

This is Israel’s day of commemoration for the approximately six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust as a result of the actions carried out by Nazi Germany and its collaborators, and also to commemorate the Jewish resistance in that period.

At 10:00 AM, sirens sound for two minutes and the entire country comes to a halt. Traffic stops, everyone stops what he/she is doing to observe the 2 minute silence. On Yom Hashoah, flags are lowered to half-mast and public places of entertainment are closed.